Be touched by the words of God! As human beings we cultivate relationships throughout our lives. From the day we are born to
the day we will die our lives are surrounded by multiple forms of relationships. Some are formal, some are necessary while
others are casual . We have relationships with our friends, relationships with our work colleagues, relationships with our
neighbors, and relationships, even with our pets but why is there a need to have a relationship with a book that is
fourteen hundred years old and for many of us, in a foreign language? This is the question! For the answer watch and listen
to the lecture here...

Arabic is easy for the brain

By Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
07th September 2010

On Saturday morning I woke up to find my inbox inundated with emails linking to an article on the BBC's website
entitled
Reading Arabic "hard for brain"
with an embedded picture of little Muslim girls in hijab reading the Arabic alphabet. Parents, somewhat concerned
about the potential strain upon their children's brains, were inquiring about the validity of the claims made
in the article. Having looked at the original research paper in the journal Neuropsychology (Language Status
and Hemispheric Involvement in Reading: Evidence From Trilingual Arabic Speakers Tested in Arabic, Hebrew
and English written by Raphiq Ibrahim and Zohar Eviatar, published by the American Psychological Association
2009, Vol. 23, No. 2, 240–254), upon which the news item was based, I think there is a need for some
clarifications that were, in the pursuit of sensationalism and perhaps anti-Arabic bias, ignored by both the researchers
and the BBC science correspondent who authored the article, Dr Katie Alcock. I apologise in advance for the use
of technical jargon but it is inescapable in this instance. This is a blatant and malicious attack posited within
a scientific framework and therefore it requires, at least in part, a discussion in scientific terms. I will
try to simplify my language as much as possible. Read
more...

Obama, the Biggest Threat to Al-Aqsa in 90 Years?

By Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
11th November 2009

Owing to the fog of multiple and conflicting pictures painted to depict Barack Obama, confusion remains
in the minds of many as to what the new President of America really represents and where exactly his
loyalties lie. As the weeks and months of his presidency pass by, inconsistent messages and contradictory
positions on major issues have become a standard feature of the regime. An executive order is signed to
close Guantanamo Bay and end the military trials of its inmates, but then the
military trials are revived and
Guantanamo remains open. Renditions are ruled out in public, but then
ruled in by stealth.
The war in Iraq was to be ended in 2009, but instead of any substantial withdrawal of troops, we have the
construction of the "small-city-larger-than-the-Vatican" sized US Embassy in Baghdad. Indeed, war continues,
as in the previous administration, to feature at the top of the White House agenda, with thousands more
troops committed to war in Afghanistan - but then Obama receives the Nobel Peace Prize.
Read more...

2012 Update

Barack Obama pushes the Democrats to reinsert references to the USA's 'God-given' potential and
the explicit recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel into the party's platform despite
significant opposition from delegates. Read more about this story
here
and
here.
Subscription/registration may be required for external sites.

The
month of Ramadan is revered universally by Muslims who
spend it in prayer, fasting, giving charity and seeking
forgiveness and spiritual growth. As usual in Britain,
Muslims have been allowed to fast and pray the lengthy
night prayer in mosques around the country, and some
local authorities have decorated small portions of their
cities with fairy lights in preparation for the festival
of Eid. However, this year's Ramadan will also be remembered
for events that are more solemn. Sadly, Ramadan 2006
will be etched into the minds of Muslims for its extraordinary
politics and the daily headlines that have targeted
the Muslim community with a sustained barrage of psychological
hostility. Read more...

Faith,
Reason and Infallibility:
Memory failures and Odd reflections

By
Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
16th August 2006

A lecture by Pope Benedict XVI entitled Faith, Reason
and the University: Memories and Reflections at
the University of Regensburg on Tuesday 12 September
2006 has caused another uproar among Muslims worldwide
and the tension seems set to increase read
more...(Arabic
version)

Enough
dissecting of Muslim hearts! Time to search for the
real roots!

By
Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
14 February 2006

Not
content with the daggers driven through the hearts of
Muslims in the form of disparaging cartoons, the media
- including the BBC - appears to be making up for not
republishing them by contributing to the pain with a
relentless campaign of dissections of the Muslim heart
to prove that we ought not to be upset. Our feelings,
they seem to suggest, are merely a result of denial
and political manipulation. Little do people realise
that this controversy was designed with the specific
purpose of causing widespread uproar among Muslims and
repulsion for Islam in Europe. read
more...
(URDU version
- ARABIC version)

It’s
a Question of Love, Newsnight, not Fear!

By
Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
03 February 2006

As
Muslims across the world voice their displeasure at
cartoons in Europe depicting the Prophet of Islam (on
whom be peace) as a terrorist, and journalists repeat
the well-worn mantras of “wake-up call”,
“freedom-of-speech in danger”, “Muslims
must conform to our norms”, and "secularist
traditions under threat", many are still wondering,
"What is all the fuss about?” read
more...

Is
this the Mountain that will Break the Back of Civilisation
as we know it?

By
Shaikh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
01 February 2006

Homosexuality
has made the headlines in the past month with unprecedented
frequency, from a series of high profile public celebrations
over civil partnerships (so-called “gay marriages”)
to Oscar-nominated blockbusters and a chain of political
career meltdowns following forced confessions of homosexual
behaviour. Behind the smoke screen of lame excuses (e.g.
lack of honesty in politics), the tendency to shy away
from endorsing this behaviour remains as alive as it
was in the 1950s when Sir John Wolfenden popularised
the idea that homosexuality could only be a “condition”
rather than the result of conditioning. The major difference
today is that instead of changing man-made laws, all
energies are focused on challenging God’s laws
and warnings. read more...

The
Beast You Seek Thrives in Your Zoo Dr Dawkins!

By
Shaikh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
20 January 2006

Our
local zoologist, Professor Richard Dawkins, has once
again tried to breach the boundaries of his mental cage
with selective science and arrogant certitude in a two
part Channel Four documentary, to argue that religion
is “The Root of All Evil”, “the elephant
in the room” ignored by everyone. It is a result
of, he said, “the process of non-thinking”.
What follows is a series of thoughts that occurred to
me, a believer in God, upon viewing the programme.read
more...

Is
the BBC lost in its own Moral Maze?

By
Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD
14 November 2005

In
my article earlier this year (19 July 2005), I questioned
the BBC’s persistence in keeping the anti-Muslim
Melanie Phillips on the panel of the Radio Four programme,
The Moral Maze. Four months on and her poisonous
spin continues to fill the airwaves twice a week. On
Saturday my car radio accidentally tuned into the programme
and to my astonishment I heard Ms Phillips, while defending
the 90 day detention proposal, argue that if a Muslim
is found to have shaved off his body hair, it probably
means he is preparing for a suicide operation.read
more...

Rev.
Sookhdeo blames Islam! In aid of Israel?By Shaykh Riyad
Nadwi, PhD
30 July 2005
Anyone reading this week's lead article in The
Spectator entitled 'The Myth of Moderate
Islam' (30 July 2005) is likely to conclude that
Muslims are about to dominate the world through
violence and will soon take over or destroy Britain....

...It
is obvious, apart from the deception aimed at
those who are unfamiliar with the demographic
realities of the Muslim population in Britain,
that Rev. Sookhdeo is attempting to exploit the
recent tragedies in London to foment religious
and racial tension. This comes as no surprise
since we know that the Reverend has made a career
for himself over the last decade by peddling 'Israeli-conceived'
fallacies and tactics against Islam and Muslims.read
more...

HIJAB
& SPINBy
Shaykh Riyad Nadwi, PhD-Jan 04

"We
are, as a state, entitled to draw a line, particularly
around state institutions, schools and particularly
around minors? [but] I have no objection absolutely
to an adult woman wearing a headscarf or indeed girls
wearing them in their own homes or out or in the mosque
or whatever." (Dr Evan Harris, 29th January
2004, BBC Radio Five Live) (click
to listen to Dr Evan Harris)(80k)

This
is Britain Mr Taheri, even Benador’s spin will
not suffice!By Shaikh Riyad Nadwi,
PhD
28 July 2005

Yesterday,
The Times published an article by one Mr Amir
Taheri calling on Muslims to stop using 'their bodies
as advertising space for al-Qaeda'. According to him,
'Growing a beard has nothing to do with Islam' and 'Muslim
women should cast aside the so-called hijab,
which has nothing to do with Islam'. Now if you are
wondering, as I imagine many would be, who this Mr Taheri
is and whence his authority to issue such a fatwa, the
answer can be readily found. I believe it is necessary
to look at some of his earlier pronouncements and the
people who have created the mirage of authority around
him. read more...

Over
the last ten days we have witnessed impassioned debates
and frantic searching for the underlying factors that
may have caused four seemingly ‘normal’
young men to blow up commuters – and themselves
– in London. The explanations offered by politicians,
journalists and pseudo-scholars range from the simplistic
(‘they-hate-freedom’, ‘mere-criminality’
and ‘literalism’) to the opportunistic (‘Islam-is-the-problem’,
‘death-cult-ideology’ and ‘frustrated
politics’). Unconvinced by these, and rightly
so, the British public continue to seek answers to this
global phenomenon that has now become a local problem
for British citizens. Some argue justifiably that there
are many people in this country with profound concerns
and frustrations over the injustices in Palestine, Afghanistan,
Kashmir, Chechnya and Iraq but they do not explode bombs
in cities to make their point. So what is it that causes
people to make the leap from frustration to terrorism?
read more...

‘A
PERSPECTIVE ON WOMEN’By Amina Al-Haddad -
14 July 2005

In
recent times, a great deal of media coverage has been
devoted to the phenomenon of so-called ‘honour
killings’, whereby mainly women, but also sometimes
men, are killed by close acquaintances for having done
something that has humiliated their family. The media
portrayal of this subject has covered both the occurrence
of the phenomenon in developing countries, and its occurrence
– or the threat of its occurrence – among
Muslim communities in the West. read
more...

Muslims of Britain have remained unanimous and consistent
in their condemnation of the London bombings. Muslim
scholars, the length and breath of this country, have
drawn inspiration from the words of the Quran to criticise
those responsible for this tragedy. Why then does the
BBC persist in propagating the offensive verbosity against
the Quran by the likes of Irshad Manji? (Newsnight 12/07/05)
Is it to provide further justification for what is increasingly
being perceived as the West’s onslaught on the
Quran and Islam? read
more...

The
appalling acts of violence against innocent civilians
such as we have seen this morning in London is condemned
both in the revealed Words of the Quran and the received
wisdom from the Prophet Muhammad.

On
behalf of the Muslims of Oxford and all Muslims in this
country, I extend my sincere condolences to the families
who have suffered in this tragedy and pray for patience
and protection for all those who live in this land that
has offered us sanctuary and freedom to practice our
faithread
more...

I
want to believe you Mr Klaidman but your retraction
has the opposite effect
- May 17, 2005

“Revelations
of sadism in Abu Ghurayb were examples of rogue elements
in a highly disciplined force, invading to teach Muslims
civility and freedom,” we were told. Last week,
Newsweek announced to the world that a copy of the Quran
was flushed down the toilet in Guantanamo Bay. A week
later, after violent demonstrations in Afghanistan,
Indonesia, Yemen and Pakistan, Newsweek editor
Daniel Klaidman tells the BBC (Radio 4, 16.05.05) that
although he had ‘relied on a source that was
very credible and reliable in the past’ and
that he had ‘run it by the Defence Department’
he now thinks that he ‘may
have made a mistake’. He is also keen to
remind the listeners that the source (a high government
official) ‘still believes that the information
was in the Southern Command report’ but the
Pentagon is denying it.read
more...

Immigration
and the clichéd question: 'Are you thinking what
we are thinking?' - April 24, 2005By
Shaikh Riyad Nadwi, PhD

Following
the Conservative campaign one may be forgiven for seeing
the party's primary slogan 'Are you thinking what
we’re thinking?' as a hackneyed gimmick to
attract potential voters, in the same vein as Labour’s
'Forward not Backward' and the Lib Dems' 'The
Real Alternative'.

On
closer inspection, however, the Conservative slogan
stands apart as something more than just a slogan with
which to convey a succinct and easy-to-remember message.
Indeed, the slogan is void of any substantive content
while embodying an interesting psycholinguistic feature.
It is a feature that only becomes apparent when accompanied
by another question, which is 'When do people feel
the need to ask such a question?' read
more...

The Spectator magazine has once again published an
article by Anthony Browne (?Church of Martyrs?, 27
March 2005) in which he attempts to create community
tension between Muslims and Christians in Britain
by using spurious statistics, hearsay and fabrication.
He is at pains to tell us how objective he is ??I
do believe that all persecution is wrong? and ?As
a liberal democrat atheist, I believe all persecuted
people should be helped equally, irrespective of their
religion?, yet in his supposedly global survey of
Christians being persecuted, there is one country
whose omission is conspicuous: Israel. The Christians
living in Israel do not exist for the Spectator, and
Mr Browne does not tell the world why the first suicide
bomber in the intifada was a Christian. Nor does he
mention the fact that the largest Christian Cathedral
in Africa was built in 1970 in a Muslim country, Egypt.read
more...

This
is about Israel, not anti-semitism - March 4, 2005
By Ken Livingstone - London Mayor

Not to speak out against this injustice would not only be wrong. It would ignore the threat it poses to us all. read more...[external link]